A book in blue with a heart-shaped cloud caught my eye. It was "Somehow: Thoughts of Love" by Anne Lamott. Anne Lamott. She is one of my favorite authors – funny and irreverent. Two of my favorite books are: "Bird by Bird" and "Help, Thanks, Wow!" I am amazed by the skill with which Anne strings her ideas together. She talks about real-life tragedies and triumphs with such insight. Her faith is unquestionable.
Tag: joy
Hungry for Joy
hese bring momentary solace, but still, I yearn for something more, something less ephemeral. I guess that’s a tall order to ask for – permanent joy. I don’t expect permanency, but maybe just little more moments, more moments of unexpected joy. That would be nice.
Reading Aloud: Creating Connection & Joy
I’m a reader. But it wasn’t always that way. Learning to read was difficult for me. I sounded out all the letters like I was taught to do, and I’d blend the sounds into words as best I could. Reading was very slow and hard work. I didn’t read fluently and beautifully for a long … Continue reading Reading Aloud: Creating Connection & Joy
Word Play
Imagination is so for learning. I think about how we don’t so much need to carve out time for play, but just need to step aside and trust the children. They know what they are doing. They can take simple words and create a whole new inspiring language.
A Pause for Celebration
“Sorrow comes in great waves...but rolls over us, and though it may almost smother us, it leaves us. And we know that if it is strong, we are stronger, inasmuch as it passes and we remain.” - Henry James After the events of the past weeks: the COVID pandemic, George Floyd’s murder, rioting and … Continue reading A Pause for Celebration
Simple Joy
Music, Poetry, Dance, Art, Nature, Food, Friends, Travel - all of these things have given me joy. When Nature, Friends, and Travel were curtailed by COVID-19, I turned to music, poetry, dance and art to keep me joyful in these past bleary months. And so spring came, flowers blossomed, the sky returned to its blissful … Continue reading Simple Joy
Invitations to Wonder…
Last week, Ruth Ayers invited her online writing group (SOS: Sharing Our Stories) to write about 7 small things. Instead, I chose to write about anger. Anger is not a small thing. Anger is a big thing, an explosive thing. It starts small and then grows. As I read some members' blog posts this week, … Continue reading Invitations to Wonder…
Poet Found: Ross Gay
Back in February, I bought a slim volume of poetry because I loved the cover - a bright floral abstract and the title, Catalog of Unabashed Gratitude by Ross Gay. I flipped to the first page - a poem about figs. Figs - my Grandpa Charlie's favorite and my favorite too. I often splurge and buy … Continue reading Poet Found: Ross Gay
Being Present to Joy
My colleagues worry about not having time enough to teach. They have so much content they need and want to cover. As a curriculum coordinator, I create tons of documents - benchmarks, scope & sequences, lists of standards by grade level to make sure we don't miss teaching one single skill or strategy. This is … Continue reading Being Present to Joy
Word Dancer: Literature, the Arts, & Education 